National Salt Satyagraha Memorial

The National Salt Satyagraha Memorial is a memorial museum at Dandi, in Navsari district, Gujarat, about 52 km from Surat. It marks the end point of Mahatma Gandhi's Salt March of 1930, in which Gandhi and a group of followers walked roughly 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad to the coast at Dandi, where on 6 April 1930 he picked up salt in defiance of the British salt tax. The act launched the civil disobedience movement and became one of the defining events of the Indian independence struggle.

The memorial complex was developed by the Government of India and inaugurated in 2022. Its centrepiece is a large installation of statues depicting Gandhi and the 80 marchers who walked with him, set in a landscaped site with a lake, solar-themed features and pathways. The museum within the complex presents the story of the Salt March and the wider independence movement using immersive displays, multimedia and sculptural installations rather than traditional object cases. The approach is thematic and narrative, guiding visitors through the planning of the march, the route, the arrest of leaders and the national impact.

The memorial is a modern construction, so questions of restoration relate to maintenance rather than conservation of historic fabric. The nearby Dandi shore and Gandhi's salt-making site are part of the wider historical landscape, and the memorial is often visited together with them. Opening is reported daily from 9:00 to 20:00, with last entry at 19:30 and closure on Tuesdays. No fee was found, so visitors should confirm at the gate, and the official site is nssm.in. Because of the distance from Surat, a half-day trip by road is the usual plan.